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Making E-Mail Fun!

© Irene Taylor

It is almost summer. You may wish that your kids were outside playing and enjoying the summer sun, but they may want to be inside learning about the family computer. This may be the perfect time for you to begin to teach them some basics about e-mail.

E-mail - that instant wonder that we all have come to use on a daily basis, and something we all feel we can't live without - is something your child will also love, if she hasn't discovered it already. But, there are some things your child should know to become a savvy e-mailer, and to develop good e-mail habits that will be out "into the real world." Most folks can "forgive" a child e-mailer a few etiquette gaffes, but those may not play as well when your child begins e-mailing at a job or to older friends and family.

First the fun!

There are many things that you can teach your child to make e-mail fun. Give a few of these a try.

Stationery

If you use a program like Outlook Express, let your child explore the world of stationery. Outlook Express comes with many fun stationery backgrounds, and there are lots of sites to download more. See Stationery Heaven and Dilly's Stationery for some great choices. Just be sure that your child realizes that the recipient of his stationery must also be using Outlook Express, or the stationery won't work.

Clip Art

Adding clip art to email is also a fun way to spruce up a plain email. Use the Insert button at the top of the e-mail screen and teach your child to browse to your clip-art folder to add holiday, seasonal, or just plain fun clip-art. Check here for some wonderful clip art for kids.

Signatures

Some email programs can be set up to automatically add a signature "file" to the end of an e-mail. Experiment with some fun ways for your child to add a personal touch to the e-mail she writes. Also, see Russ Leavitt's signature page for animated signatures available in many names.

Emoticons and Acronyms

The cyberworld has its own set of short ways to say a variety of common things. Some are forms of abbreviations such as:

BTW - by the way
LOL - laughing out loud
BBL - be back later
IOW - in other words

Time for Kids has a great list of more abbreviations.

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